Notes from Rachel: Fall LUX Fashion is Here!

My friend Emily loves to run in cheap cotton. She still wears Old Navy shorts from ninth grade cross country on our runs. And there’s an argument for wearing your least favorite but most-borderline-technical stuff on a run: “I am bound to stink it up, tear it on a fence, or rub dirt into the seat of it.” I get it. I love my 2009 Hood-to-Coast race tee. Just don’t hug me when I’m in it.

I propose the alternative. The idea that your favorite clothing for life should also be the clothing you run in. Or downward face dog in. Some of my favorite all-around pieces (grocery store shopping pieces, having a cocktail pieces) are also running pieces. Take my Icebreaker wool tee in pinstripe purple (wore it to Bridge of Spies on Saturday, drank wine in it!). Take my vibrant red Flash Longsleeve Tee from Oiselle (also in store!). I say, wash on cold, hang dry, and go ahead and wear it for anything.

Oiselle and Lolë 

Cotton, over time, as I have learned the hard way, stinks up and stains in the pits. On the other hand, the stuff that clothing brands are making now, provided they are cared for like real clothes, hold up to smell tests over time, and also are better guaranteed to maintain their fit and hang across many runs and cocktail hours. What’s more dangerous, anyway? Spilling pork shoulder juice on your sweater at Clyde Common, or the effect a 4-mile tempo has on your shorts? They both smell tomorrow!

Coupled with better technology, brands are thinking about the actual fit and detailing of their pieces. Take the Lux sweatshirt from Oiselle for example that just arrived here in store. I suggest it worn over dinner and then for your marathon shake out run. It’s made of a poly-blend that comes off as slightly stretchy but also rich and buttery. It has a side pocket for your phone, making it a fitness piece. It has a slouchy, boatneck cut, making it a hanging-out-on-your-couch piece.

Rachel relaxes in Lolë and Oiselle at her desk

We also just received our first order, ever, of Lolë apparel. Lolë is a women’s apparel brand founded in Montreal in 2012, and makes fabulous pieces designed to be technical and versatile. Versatile is my word for this fall. Come in and try the burst leggings – we’ve got them in three colors, and I can tell you already, they won’t be here long. They pair beautifully with the Oh Snap tank from Oiselle. It’s a piece that staff member Sarah T said, when modeling it, “I would go out in this.” Take it from the people who work here – you’re going to have a hard time figuring out if you should run in what you buy, or go on a date in it. Or both.